Wichita eagle., 1887-01-19
QUEER AMMUNITION.
ROMAN CANDLES AS WEAPONS or
OFFENSE AND DEFENSE.
A Frontier Incident in Western Kansas.
Repelling q Night Attack of Indians
and Greasers-A Terrorized Foe-A


Repelling a Night Attack of Indians
and Greasers-A Terrorized Foe-A
Timely PrecautiOn.
sOne of my adventures, ehr' began the
book agent, as the others settled into their
seats more comfortably. well, about eight
wears ago carried pack Of novelties, such
as YOU frequently see exhibited on the street
corners and presided over by a sunburned
Italian. With another man and young fell
low of IS, Travelled through Kansas to the
Colorado line, selling and trading our wares
to the Indians for anything marketable in the
cities. About the time of our arrival in the
western part of Kansas the memorable IN
dian outbreak was terrorizing the country.
From the south and west came reports of the
terrible outrages perpetrated by the Indians
and greasers Houses Were burned, the in
mates were killed instantly or tortured to
death and all the cattle were driven off and
scattered. You may be sure felt consider
able solcitude concerning the safety of my
little party and took extra precautions to
find secluded spots when camping. OF
course. under the conditions, deemed it ad-
visable to get out of the neighborhood if:.-
nediately. To do so we found it necessary
to pass through the country most likely to be
infested by Struggling bands of Indians. De
spite the risks we determined to make the at
tempt.
AFTER DAYS TRAMP
after long, hard days tramp, We en-
camped for the night in one of those small can
yons so prevalent in western Kansas 1t was
an excellent place. too. Our backs were eff
fectually protected by natural cave in the
side of the bank, the entrance to which was
concealed by brush and tall grass. Sam, tho
boy of the party, was an unusually bright
young fellow and very familiar with the tao
tics of Indian warfare. Just before lying
down l noticed him untying good sized
bundle Of sticks resembling short broom
handles He placed them in easy reach and
tumbled down to sleep l had also noticed
him fumbling around the bushes short time
before, but didn't pay much attention to his
actions. The other fellow and myself con
cluded not to set guard, as we were in such
an excellent place. l don't know how long
we had slept when we were awakened by
Sam shaking us slightly and whispering:
"'Be quick now, the Indians are getting
ready to slip in on u.s.
"By this time we We're both wide awake and
ready with our rifles.
"'Listen,' whispered Sam; hear the dirty
ramps slipping up. Put down the rifles. I've
got something better
"He handed each of us four of the sticks
mentioned renlarking:
"'Thems Roman candles I've got a pile
of whoppers along and think we can scare
these scamps clean out of their hides
THE CANDLES FLASHED.
Il caught the idea in moment and strained
my ears to listen for further demonstrations
from the attacking party. We could hear
them creeping here and there through the
bushes, scarcely making a noise, but easily
distinguished in the silence of the night.
"'Now,' whispered Sam. take two in each
hand and I'll light them
"Suiting the action to the word, he con
| trived to light them in rapid succession
Then we turned them into the bushes, and
| heavens! what a sight was revealed as the
| candles flashed. About fifty villainous look
| ing savages and greasers were STOPPING and
creeping along toward us AT the first fiast
they stopped as if spellbound We turned
! them so the green and white balls would
strike them in their faces. The candles were
tremendous affairs, and eight or ten of theE
popping away, apparently independent Of
! human aid, was enough to terrorize any one
| Our assailants wavered a moment then ant
with terrible yell, bounded away towart
high ground as if the devil himself was il
pursuit We could hear them scramble VI
the hillside, mount their horses ard galloI
away. Sam afterward explained that he haC
brought the candles along as a side specula
ton, and he also explained that he had ar
ranged system of strings among the bushes
so that no one could approach very cloS'
without meeting the obstruction and alarm
ing him. 1t is needless to state that W.
reached safe ground in due time, without fur
ther nlolestation. Omaha Herald.